Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte turned on the country's Catholic bishops once again on Thursday, calling them 'sons of bitches'.
Risking the ire of the Catholic-majority population, the president laid into bishops and priests who have been critical of his crackdown on drugs in which thousands have been killed.
In his latest attack, made during a speech to break ground for a school near the capital Manila, he said 'most' bishops were gay and that the Catholic Church should 'cancel celibacy and allow them to have boyfriends'.
'Only I can say bishops are sons of bitches, damn you. That is true,' he said.
Over Christmas, he accused the Church of hypocrisy and said it should 'correct itself' before it criticises others.
'To the priests, don't meddle too much,' he said.
In other scathing remarks, he called God 'stupid' and told Filipinos that going to church was not worth their time or money.
'You don't have to go to church to pay for these idiots,' he said of the bishops and priests.
Despite the hostile rhetoric, the Catholic Church has continued to speak out. Gerardo Alminaza, the Bishop of San Carlos in the province of Negros Occidental, said that the government's cracksown on drugs had created a climate of terror and fear not seen since the days of martial law.
'Climate of fear and terror is back, as in martial law years. More human rights violations and extrajudicial killings are feared,' he told the Inquirer.
He said the Church has been offering sanctuary as he called for an end to the bloodshed.
'Killing one's perceived enemies will not permanently solve the problem if the root of the problem, which is social injustice and inequality, is not addressed,' he said.
